Exhaust sleeve for deep-well air pumps



Dee. 1s, 1928.

R. H. TUCKER EXHAUST SLEEVE FOR DEEP WELL AIR PUMPS' 2 sheets-Sheet Filed Oct. 2, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 0G13. 2, 1924 nml` j;

Ill

R H TUCKER EX-AUST SLEEVE FOR DEEP WELL AIR PUMPS my? 6 l 6 W 9 Y l L m, ll. 0 ic, 4, 6 M 4 4 107 a 6 2 Patented Dec. 18, 192s.

UNITE-D -sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH IBI.l TUCKER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

. EXHAUST SLEEVEv For. DEEP-WELL AIR PUMPS.

Applicaton'led October 2, 1924. Serial No. 741,242.

An object is to provide an exhaust sleeve :tor deep well air pumps of the type shown, claimed and described in my companion application for air lift pumps, tiled June 9,

lVhile the oil tubing string may be of con@v siderable length thejoil around the tubing string may be low and it is'the object of this invention to discharge the exhaust outwardly i Y pump `with the exhaust sleeve in Iposition for use in accordance with the principles ofmy' through the pump mechanism to the oil wit-hin the well casing around the pump mecha nism, thereby reducing the back pressure on the exhaust.

uAnother objection to discharging the eX-V liaustair into the oil tubing string is that the passage ofair upwardly throughthe oil tends to form an emulsion between the oil .and any water contained inthe oil, and furthermore lthere is no easy way of getting rid of the air, that is of separating the air from the oil at the top of the wellyand it is the object of this invention .te overcome these objections. -V c Other objects and advantages will appear `from the drawings and specification. The drawings illustrate the complete present invention. n v

Figure 1 isa vertical ldiarnetrical section of a well, a well casing, an air driven pump7 and the exhaust sleeve applied to the pump.

Fig. 2, is an enlarged fragmentary sec# tional detail of the pump mechanism from the piston cylinder upwardly to the exhaustports into the open well. Y

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional vdetail on the lines v 3'-3 of Figs. 1 and 2 andlooking downf wardly as indicatedby the arrows. y

Fig. 4 is a cross section on the lines 4-.4 of Figs. 1 and 2 and looking downwardly as indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional detail on the line 5-.-5 of Fig. 4 and .looking in the direction, indicated by lthe arrows.

Fig. 6 is a. fragmentary vertical .sectional detail on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Thedetails of construction and operation shown inthe drawings are as follows:

The welll hole 1 and the wellcasing 2 may be any of the usual constructions and conditions.

The oil tubing string 3 may be of any der sired size that will vpass freely into the well casing 2. A coupling 4 is placed upon ythe lower en'd of the oil well string 3 and has a beveled internal seat 5 within the vertical plane of the chamber 6 in the oil well string. A pum'p cylinder housing 7 is screwed upwardly into the coupling 4 and has a perforated cap 8 upon its lower en-d. The` air pipe 9 isa string of practically the same' length as the oil tubing .string 3 and may be of any.U vdesired size that will pass freely into the oil A tubing string 3. A spring seat 10 fits against the lower endfof the air pipe 9. An eXpansive'coil spring 11 fits upwardly against the sprmg seat 10. A'hollow` plunger but'ter12 ts against the spring 11 and has radial slots 13 formed from its lower end and producing teeth 14. A nipple 15 is screwedjupon the lower end of the air pipe 9 land has a shoulhousing ,17 I extends downwardly from the nipple l5 and has a shoulder 18 against which der 16 engaging the spring seat 10. A spring- ,i the flange 19 of theplunger 12 engagsfi as v to support the plunger and spring.

j A cylinder 20 extends downwardly from V I the housing 17 and has a spider 21 with a beveled finished outer face fitting upon the seat 5 to support the pump mechanism and the air -pipe 9. A piston cylinder supporting member 22 is screwed upon the spider 21,' there being ports 23 leading'through the spider from the cylinder chamber 24. A piston cylinderl head 25 is screwed into the lower gnd of the supporting member 22 anda piston cyl# inder 26 is screwed upon the head 25 against the member 22. A plug 27 is screwed into the lower end of thecylinder 26j. A chamber 28 is formed from the upper face of theplug 27. An expansive'spring 29 is mounted n in the chamber. A buffer 30 is mounted upon the vspring 29 and has a flange 31 extending from its lower part. A ring 32 is screwed in-v to the top of the fch'amber 28 to engage the ange 31 and limit the upward movement of the butler under the vtension ofthe spring 29.

i Teeth 33 extend upwardly from the buffer 30,

. upwardly slidin teeth 33. The head 37 has a veled upper i v outer face 38 'to tit a beveled valve` seat 39 formed in the {lower endof the hollow stem 35, so that when the piston 34 is down with the head 37 upon the teeth 33, the head 37 is in engagement with 'the seat 39 to close the assage aroundthe 'valve 36 in the stem 35. orts 40 are formed through the stem 35 above the cylinder head25. Grooves 41 are formed longitudinally in theperiphery of the valve 36 from the head 37 upwardly to points to ports 43 aboveithe webs.

above the ports 40.

In forming the grooves 41, webs 42 are i-nserted acrossthe upper ends of the grooves with the grooves extending inside of the webs The webs 42 form port 'closures and cover'the ports 40 when the air pressure is on to raise the piston 34, and

uncover the ports 40 after the piston 34 has At this been raised, and should go down. time the grooves 41 andthe ports 40 serve as exhaust means to let the air out below the piston 34. f

The valve 36 is tubular and when the head 37 is seated, the valve 36 extends above the stem 35 and has a head' 44 closing the ppper has a flange 46 to engage the end of a chamber o the valve, and the head upperfend of the stem 35 and ports 47 below the flange, sothat when the piston 34 is' down, the. head 44 -is raised and the air pressure coming down the pipe 9 will pass through the ports 47, through the chamber 45, through the teeth 33 to an expansion chamber 48 between the plug 27 and the piston 34, and the air pressure will raise the piston 34'to drive the oil out of thefch'ami ber 49 betweenl the piston 34 and the cylinder head 25.

`The details of the exhaust sleeve for deep wellvair pumps are as 'followsz` Y The cylinder head 25 consists of an intake valve base a and an outlet valve base b. The base b has an annular upper portion c and the supportin member 22 is screwed down upon the perip e1 of this upper portion to f a shoulder d. b extends downwardly from the shoulder d, a surface f ttin against the inner face of an annular collar integral w/ith the housing 7. yValve seat o enings g extendv .upwardly from the lower ace of the portion e and exhaust ports h extend outwardlywfrom the4 upper ends of the openings g to the exhaust chamber z between the-supporting member 22 and the cylinder housing 7 above the porhe lower portion@ of the baseA tion 7. The portion 47 serves to separate the exhaust-chamber i from the inlet chamber. Valves have stems c extending into seats above the ports h and expansive coil springs Z are placed around the stems 7c valves and the tops of the ports 1L. Valve between thc seats m are screwed upwardly into the opcn- Y ings g against the valves j. Reccsscs are formed' in the lower face o f the portion e and forni connecting ports n leading the exhaust to the valve seats m. A conduit 0 is screwed down into t-he center of the-annular portion c and spaced away from the stem 35 to forni the exhaust conduit passage pleading toward the ports n. The central opening through the portion-e is enlarged to form the extension conduit passage g leading from the lower end of the conduit passage p, and forming a part of the conduit passage p. The ports 40 discharge into the passage p.

A coupling sleeve 1' is formed integral with the conduit o and fits closely around the lower end of the cylinder 20, there being packing rings s recessed into the periphery of the cyl inder within the coupling sleeve 1 to make a tight joint.

The inlet base a lits slidingly around the stern 35 and is screwed upwardly into the base b and forms bottoms for the ports n. The cylinder 26 is screwed upwardly lontothe base a against the lower face of the portion e.

An annular plate 50lits uponthe lie/ad 25 and covers outlet ports 51 and 52-forincd4 through the cylinder head 25.

Bolts 53 have heads 54. Expansion coil springs 55 are mounted upon the bolts against the heads 54. Bores 56 vare formed from the upper 'face of the head 25 and the y bolts and springs are inserted into the bores. Spring seats 57 are screwed into the bores against the springs 55.` The plate 50 is placed in osition wi'thvthe bolts 53 extending throng the late and nuts 58 are screwed down upon the olts against the plate.

The tensions of the springs 55 are exerted to hold the plate 50 down to close the 4outlet ports 51 and 52 and support the load of oilin the oil tubin string 3 and chamber 24 and form outlet c eck valves so that when the piston 34 moves up, the oil in the chainber 49 will pass through' the ports 5l and 52 and upwardly.

.A plate 59 fits against the lower face of the head-25 and covers elbow-shaped inlet ports 60 and 61 leading from an inlet oil chamber Y62 to the chamber 49. Bolts and springs 63 and 64 hold the plate 59 yieldingly in posit-ion so as to form inlet check valves to hold the pressure in the chamber communicates with'the oil in the well easing 2 through the perforated cap 8 so that as fast as the oil is pumped from the chamber 62,

CII

upwardly through the head 44 will strike the buffer 12 and the valve 36 will be moved downwardly in the stem 35, thereby closing the ports 47` and moving the port closures 42 to open the ports 40 and moving the head 37 away from theseat 39, thereby allowing the air in the chamber 48 to pass upwardly through the grooves 41 and through the ports 43 and 40 into the conduit passages p and g, thefports n, the valve seat m past -the valve j, and through the outlet ports h to the chamber z' andupwardly through the ports t at the top of the housing 7 and into the open well, that is, the

4space around the lpump mechanism within the well casing.

As soon as the air pressure has been suiiciently exhausted from the chamber 48, theair pressure uponthe head 44 will move the stem and the valve 36 downwardly until the head 37 strikes the buier teeth 33 and continued downward movement of the stem. 35 will bring the head 37 into the seat 39, then close theports and'open the ports 47 so that the air pressure will pass downwardly make such claims herein.

to the chamber48and again raise the' piston 34. There will be sufficient friction between the stem 35 and the valve 36 to carry the valve with the stem until the valve strikes either' the buffer 12 o'r the buffer 30. As above stated, the discharge of the exhause air into the openwell greatly reduces the back pressure upon the exhaust and is an easy way of separatingthe air fronrthe oil. This disposition of the air also Javoids the liability of emulsifying the oil and water in the oil string. C

The pump mechanism. as constructed and operated without the exhaust sleeve is showvn,

described and claimed in the companion ap.- plication abovecited, and I do not wish to vfrom the coupling, a'spider secured to the lower end ofthe air pipe and engaging the seat, a tubular cylinder extending from the air. pipe through the spider, 'a cylindersupporting member extending from the^ spider downwardly, a cylinder head at the lower end of the supporting member and having inlet and outlet check valves, a piston cylinder ex tending downwardly from the cylinder head,

means forming a head in the lower end of the cylinder, a spring buer in the hea'd,a piston Y in the piston cylinder, a hollow `stem extending upwardl through the first cylinder head and slidingly into the air pipe cylinder, there being air outlet ports through the hollow stem above 'the *first cylinder head, and a hollow valve closed from the piston slidingly a-tits upper end and extending slidingly through the hollow stem and adapted to be reciprocatedin the stem by engagement with the buifters as thepiston goes up and down, there being ports and port closing ymeans operatedby the rec'iprocation of the valve so as 'to let the air from the air pipe raise the piston and so as to exhaust the air /to lower the piston, there being meansfor conducting the ex l haust air to the open well outside of the pump mechanism. i r 2. A pump of the class described, having an air pipe inside of an oil tubing, an air cylinL der extending downwardly from the air pipe, `a piston cylinder'connected t'o the oil tubing and having an upper cylinder head and a v lower cylinder head,a piston in the piston cyl`u inder between the heads, a hollow stem extending rm the piston slidingly through thek upper head and slidingly into the air cylinder, a valve slidinglymounted through the hollow stem, intake and outlet check valves inthe upper head, spring buffers forreciproeating the valve-in the stem, there being ports and port closing means operated by the reciprocation of the valve for admittinggair from the air pipe to the expansion chamber below the piston to raise the piston and for shutting off the air pipe pressure and exhausting the pressure from the expansion chamber to lower the piston, there being means'fr conducting loo the exhaust air to the open well outside of the pump mechanism.

3. -A pump of the-class described, a piston.

cylinder having an imperforate lower, head and an upper head provided with intake and outletl check valves, a piston in the-piston cylinder,-an air pipe and means for leading the air from the air pipe to theexpansion chamber below the piston and for admitting thev air Vpressure, to, and exhausting the airpres-VV sure from, the expansion chamber below the piston, there being means for conducting the exhaust air to the open well outside of the pump mechanism. Y y

4. A pump of the class described, the com- 'bination with an oil tubing string and an air pump string, of a coupling secured to the` lower end of. the oil tubing, an internal seat,

in the coupling, a housing extending downwardly ronr the coup/ling and having exhaust ports, aspider secured to the lower end' llt) of thev air pipe'and engaging the'seat, a tu billar cylinderextending` from the air pipe throu h the spider, a cylinder supporting member extending from the spider downwardly, a cylinder head atthe lower end' of the supporting member and having inlet wardlyfrom the cylinder head, the cylinder check valves, a cylinder extendingidownf head extending outwardlyfrom the cylinderI to form an inlet oil chamber below the head.-

between the cylinder and housino and an exhaust chamber above the c lindser head'between the supporting mem r and housing, the inlet check valves leading from the inlet chamber below the cylinder-head, and-exhaust check valves in passages leading through the cylinder head and discharging into the exhaust chamber and ultimately to the ports in the housing and to the open well. I 5. A pump of the class described, the com# bination with an oil tubing string and an air `pump string, of a coupling secured to the lowerend of the oil tubing, an internal seat in the coupling, a housing extending downlwardly from the coupling and having exhaust ports, a spider secured to the lower end of the air ipe and engaging the seat,

a tubular cylin er extending 'from the air i pipe through the spider, a cylinder supporting member extending from the spider downwardly, a cylinderhead at the lower end of the supporting member and having inlet check4 valves, a cylinder extending downwardly from the cylinder head, the cylinder head extending outwardly from the cylinder `rto form an inlet oil chamber below the head i between the cylinder and housing and an exhaust chamber'above the Icylinder head between the'supporting member and housing,

the inlet check valves leading from the inlet stem extending upwardly from the iston slidingly through the cylinder hea and slidingly into the tubular cylinder, there. being outlet ports through the hollow `stem above the cylinder head, and a hollow valve .closed at its upper end and extendin slidingly through 'the hollow stem and a apted to be reciprocated as the piston goes up and ldown, there being ports and port closing means operated by the reciprocationof the valve so as to let the air from the, air pipe raise the piston and so as to exhaust the air past the check valves through the exhaust l .to the open well.

`ports' in the cylinder head to the exhaust chamber and ultimately through the housing 6. A pum of the class described, for lifting fluids rom wells comprising a pum adapted to be lowered into an open we means for supplying air under pressure to the ump, there belng an exhaust assage leadin from the pump, and a chec valve contro ing the fiow through the exhaust passage, said exhaust passage discharging into theopen well at a point above the inlet to the pump.

7. .A pump of the class described, comprising a barrel, a piston reciprocable in the barrel, means providing well fluid inlet and outlet checky valves to the barrel above the piston, means for intermittently supplying air pressure to the barrel below the piston, and.4

means for alternately" releasing the air pressure'into the Vopen well above the inlet check valves so as to produce reciprocation of the piston.

8. A pump of the class described, comprising a barrel having its lower end closed, -a

"piston reciprocable therein, means for admitting well fluid to the barrel above the piston upon the downward stroke of the piston,

ymeans for discharging the fluidV upwardly from the barrel upon the upward stroke of the piston, means for intermittently supplying air pressure to the barrel below the piston, and means for alternately releasing the air pressure'through the barrel into the open .well above the inlet to the barrel;

.9.. A pump of the class described, compris'- ing a barrel having its lower end closed, a

head 'within said barrel, inlet and outlet check valves mounted up'on said head, an air cylinder, meansi for supplyin air to said airv cylinder, a iston reciproca lein said'barrel below said ead and having a hollow stem reciprocable in said air cylinder, means Vadapted to open andA close said stem whereby said stem and piston may. bey forced downwardly by the air in said air cylinder or air may be' admitted tosaid barrelbelow said piston, and means. for discharging the air insaid barrel which 'isbelowsaid piston into the open well.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. e

'RALPH H. TUCKER. 

